Reply #8: Populism attacks all sources of legitimate authority that are a threat

[kristopher]

Since the academic community is, by and large, able to untangle the false reasoning used by corporate Republicans, they are eager to de-legitimize the "intellectuals".

That goes hand and glove with another thread of influence - the belief that the bible is the inerrant word of god. Since the corporatists co-opted the bible belt when the Civil Rights Act alienated the white bigots, they have had a core group already predisposed to dislike science. The bible's validity cannot stand close scrutiny and science (especially evolution) has made maintaining the belief in biblical inerrancy an uphill proposition. I think a lot of what we are seeing is a 'last gasp' flailing by this group. (That could be nothing more than wishful thinking.)